They Might Be Giants

Why Does The Sun Shine?

(The Sun Is A Mass Of Incandescent Gas)

"Tune In" To They Might Be Giants. They Might Be Giants love making music, but not just the imaginative new sound they make in their numerous live concerts, television, or radio appearances. In these brand new recordings, They Might Be Giants bring you the color, the grandeur, and the warmth of the music of the past.

Why Does The Sun Shine? is an educational recording from a 1959 record called Space Songs and was a favorite tune in the They Might Be Giants' households. Here, with the vibrants glockenspiel of Brian Doherty leading the way, the song takes the listener on a musical voyage to that shining spot on the far off horizon.

Originally recorded by the Allman Brothers Band, Jessica is off the group's Brothers and Sisters album from 1973. Recorded after the tragic death of band founder Duane Allman, it retains the vibrant beauty and know-how that made them legends of Southern rock.

The Meat Puppets have always been a favorite with the younger set, and as their legend continued it was just a matter of time before They Might Be Giants fell under their magical, musical spell. Whirlpool, from their 1992 release Forbidden Places is a heart-stopping example of the Meat Puppets' lyrical wealth. The bass and saxophone arrangement presented here compliments the Meat Puppets' elfin vision.

Spy is a new song from They Might Be Giants, but it's already wreaking havoc in their live show. Check out the band's homeage to secret agent themes and free improvisation...

... "Tune in" to the new sound of They Might Be Giants, and you'll be "tuned in" for a treat you'll want to give yourself again and again.

They Might Be Giants is John Linnel (accordian, saxophone, bass clarinet, vocal) and John Flansburgh (electric guitar, vocal), and featuring Brian Doherty (drums, glockenspiel), Kurt Hoffman (clarinet, saxophone), Frank London (trumpet), and Graham Maby (bass). Produced by They Might Be Giants. Recorded and Mixed by Patrick Dillett at Excello Studio, Brooklyn and Skyline Studios, NYC.

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Why Does The Sun Shine?

* Why Does The Sun Shine?
* Jessica
* Whirlpool
* Spy

Why Does The Sun Shine?

(The Sun Is A Mass Of Incandescent Gas)

The sun is a mass of incandescent gas
A gigantic nuclear furnace
where hydrogen is built into helium
at a temperature of millions of degrees

Yo ho it's hot
The Sun is not
a place where we could live
but here on earth there'd be no life without the light it gives

We need it's light
We need it's heat
We need it's energy

Without the sun
Without a doubt
There'd be no you and me

The sun is a mass of incandescent gas
A gigantic nuclear furnace
where hydrogen is built into helium
at a temperature of millions of degrees

The sun is hot

It is so hot that everything on it is a gas
Iron
Copper
Aluminum
and many others

The sun is large

If the sun were hollow a million earths could fit inside
and yet the sun is only a middle-sized star

The sun is far away

About 93 million miles away!
and that's why it looks so small

And even when it's out of sight
the sun shines night and day

The sun gives heat
The sun gives light
The sunlight that we see
The sunlight comes from our own sun's atomic energy

Scientists have found that the sun is a huge atom-smashing machine
The heat and light of the sun come from the nuclear reactions of
Hydrogen
Carbon
Nitrogen
and Helium

The sun is a mass of incandescent gas
A gigantic nuclear furnace
where hydrogen is built into helium
at a temperature of millions of degrees

Jessica...

Whirlpool...

There was a swirling mass water that lived in a quiet pond
It asked permission from it's master to visit the lands beyond

And it's master allowed it to fly
So the winds swept the whirlpool across the sky

Whirlpool
Whirlpool

There was a swirling mass water that lived in a quiet pond
It asked permission from it's master to visit the lands beyond

And it's master allowed it to fly
So the winds swept the whirlpool across the sky

And it had the idea to fly
So the wind swept the whirlpool across the sky

Whirlpool
Whirlpool
Whirlpool

Spy...

I see you from my spy plane maybe
I see you walking on the ground
I see you through my spy glass baby
I can see right through the ground

If you want to be a spy
Then you must really see
And you must really see if you want to be a spy
Like me

I might gaze on a submarine
I see your face smiling at me
Even when I close my eyes
Your silohette is smiling at me

But you will never understand me
because I have a special job
I wish I could break the spy glass
Set it free

So we could be...

Spy Spy Spy
Spy Spy Spy
Spy Spy Spy
Spy Spy Spy
Aaaahhhh!
Spy Spy Spy

Spy

Created By: Craig -PJ- Hansen
Last Modified: May 29, 1996
Email: pjhansen@tmbg.org

All materials copyright 1994 Elektra Entertainment, a division of Warner Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Design copyright 1996 - The Pajama-Hut. All Rights Reserved
Special thanks to Andrew McNair for pointing out an error in my lyircs for Track 1.